Dare
by iHelen
Summary: GRUVIA, Gray gets dared to go on a date with Juvia and EVERYTHING goes horribly wrong when Gray hurts Juvia's feelings. Rated T for swearing and some perverted/sexual stuff. If you're under 14, your precious minds might be scarred. There's also some NaLu in here, so yeah! Lets get on with it! UPDATE- OFFICAL HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1

Lucy sighed as she walked back to the apartment. Her last job had granted her enough money to pay the rent, which definitely gave her some peace of mind. "Another month in my cozy little house..." she said. "Maybe I'll have Cancer give me a little trim later!" Yeah, that would be just the right thing to celebrate with, she thought. Lucy searched in her bag for a second and pulled out her key. After Cancer have her a gorgeous haircut, what would she do? It was 4 o' clock now, after the trim she would probably need dinner and then she would work on her... Special project, the novel.

_God, why isn't the key fitting? Maybe I have it upside down or something-_

Lucy looked down at the key. "AGHHHH! It's a celestial key, and Aquarius's at that!"

"Ugh, I'm going to be fish food..."

Lucy fished around for the real key. "God, where the heck is it?"

"It's not like someone STOLE it or something."

Crap.

Wait a second... Was that people she heard? In her freaking house? "What happened to the notion of your house being YOUR house and not some random place for your friends to meet?"Lucy pounded on the door. "Let me in!" The door opened and a completely guiltless looking Natsu opened up. "Yo, Lucy, we borrowed the key to the house, we had to get past the burglar alarm or the police would be breathing down..."

Lucy gave him the evil aura and pushed past him and sighed.

"Gray. Clothes."

"What? Argh!"

_God_, Lucy thought, _Erza is the only somewhat sane person-_

"Oh my god, Lucy, I didn't even know underwear like this existed. How do you wear this kind of stuff-"

"EEEEEERZAA! Put that back!"

_Nope, I take that back, Erza is just as insane as the others..._

"Why are you guys even here anyways? The landlord complains about the noise whenever you guys are over and he might charge me extra. 70,000 jewel is enough, thank you."

_They had better have a damn good reason for coming here or I am going to make them pay the extra that he charges..._

"Well..." Gray started

"WE'RE HAVING A SLEEP OVER!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Aye!" said Happy.

"Oh wow," Gray said sarcastically, "Great way to get her aboard on the idea."

The boys were head to head.

"You wanna go at it slanty eyes?"

"I'm all fired up, squinty eyes."

"Stop it." Erza said, giving them the evil eye.

"Aye aye sir!" Giving them a look of slight disgust, Erza continued the explanation.

"Since we are now Fairy Tail's greatest team, Nat- WE thought it would be a good idea to celebrate with a sleepover party."

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"Well, we only really thought of it a few minutes ago..."

Lucy sighed. Typical.

"Why couldn't we have it somewhere else? And that still doesn't explain how you got my key."

Erza looked a bit guilty for a second.

"My house is being treated for an... Ant infestation."

Natsu went next. "Happy messed up my place."

"Aye, sir!"

Gray shrugged. "Erza just told me to come. I thought you knew."

Lucy stared daggers at Erza who was making a somewhat sheepish face.

_God, there go my plans of a relaxing afternoon._

And a haircut.

"Gah," Lucy said, "I guess we can have the sleepover, but if my landlord complains about the noise, you all have to pay the extra he'll charge." "YIPPEE!" Natsu yelled.

"Shhhhh!" the others said.

After everyone got set up, Lucy was seriously considering kicking them out and making them pay what the landlord charged anyway. He had come up to complain, not once, but TWICE about the noise. Erza was not helping one bit. All she did was add to the noise by yelling "SHUT UP!"

"Alright," Lucy said after everyone was FINALLY calm, "What's a game we can play?"

_What's a game that no one will get hurt doing?_ Lucy sweatdropped.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Natsu instinctively yelled.

"GAHHHH!" Lucy yelled, _Someone will definitely get hurt with that!_

"Lets, um, save that for later..."

"Erza? Gray? Happy? Any suggestions?"

Gray shook his head.

"How about fish in the middle?"

Everyone sweatdropped a bit at Happy's idea.

"You are way to obsessed with fish..." Lucy groaned.

"There's always been a game I wanted to play..." Erza said thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Lucy, Gray, and Natsu said at the same time.

_Please not darts, _Lucy prayed silently, _The last time we did that it was an absolute disaster..._

"Truth or Dare." Erza finished.

"WHAT?" everyone said.

Erza looked slightly miffed. "It's a traditional sleepover game. I've never actually played it, but I do know the rules."

_Yes!,_ Lucy thought, _It's not violent, no one can get hurt unless someone gets in a fight or __someone dares someone to do something dangerous, but no normal person would do that!_

"OK, Gray," Natsu said, "I dare you to stomp a hole in the floor!"

"NO NO, THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!" Lucy screamed.

_Oh wait. This crowd isn't normal. This is Fairy Tail._

Erza gave Natsu the Death Stare.

"OK," Lucy jumped in, "Let me explain the rules. Someone spins the bottle on the floor right here, and whoever it lands on gets to spin the bottle again and say, 'Truth or Dare?' to whoever it lands on. For example," Lucy spun the bottle, "Erza, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Alright, Erza picked Truth. I will ask her a question and she will have to answer truthfully. Erza, what was the last kind of armor you requipped?"

"I requipped my Heart Kreuz armor couple days ago." Erza replied happily.

"If she had chosen Dare," Lucy continued, "I would say something she had to do. The asker can say whether the person has to do it now or the next day. And one other thing," Lucy added as something of an afterthought, "You can't make the person do something that would physically harm them or tarnish their reputation. Clear?"

"Aye sir!" said Happy.

The others nodded.

"Alright, I started, so Erza, you spin."

"Ok... Natsu! Truth or Dare?"

"Dare, of course!"

"Ok..." Erza thought for a second. "I dare you to burn a hole in Lucy's floor without destroying anything else."

"Wait, NO!" Lucy yelled, "NO DESTRUCTION OF OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY!"

Erza gave her a slightly reproachful look, but said, "Cancel that, I dare you to... Hmm, oh, I know. Natsu, I dare you to drink your glass of milk in less than 20 seconds."

Lucy sighed. That was kind of a violation of the no physical harm rule, but she had already stopped Erza once and this was probably the best she would get. Natsu grinned and started chugging his milk that Lucy had somewhat reproachfully gotten them all upon request.

"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug," Happy chanted. He faded out when no one else actually joined in.

"Ah!" Natsu slammed his mug back on the ground, causing Lucy to squeal, "Don't break it!"

"What was my time?" he asked.

Erza checked the stopwatch.

"19 seconds. You made it."

"Yay!" Happy said.

"Ok, Natsu, you spin."

He reached over and spun.

"Lucy! Truth or Dare?"

_Ugh, he's probably going to make me do something horrible if I choose Dare. I should probably just stick to truth,_ she thought.

"Truth."

"What type and color of underwear are you wearing right now?"

"Natsu!" Lucy shrieked.

"You have to tell us," he said, somewhat triumphantly, "We're all waiting."

Lucy shifted uncomfortably and blushed. "It's, um, a pink thong."

Gray, Natsu, and Erza all laughed. "Hey! Shut up! You're just as bad as Taurus!"

_Those stupid, dirty, perverted..._

After they had "recovered" somewhat, Erza said, "Your turn to spin Lucy!"

**Hi, sorry to end on such an abrupt note, but I had to stop soon or it would be way too long. Guess this isn't a oneshot after all, but it won't be too many chapters. There wasn't much of Gray or Juvia in this chapter, but trust me, there will be more of them later. Please favorite, review and follow, I love advice and I would love some suggestions for my Blair story (and this one too, I guess!). If you want me to write about a certain anime, please feel free to message me or leave it in your review. Just a note, I have only watched FUNimation animes. I am planning to watch Death Note, Fruits Baskets, Chobits, and Darker than Black soon. So yeah. Message me with recommendations, I can always use them, and reviews and suggestions, and I am now babbling... See you soon with a new chapter! Bye! **


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy begrudgingly spun.

"Happy!"

"Aye sir!"

"Truth or Dare?"

Happy thought for a moment.

"Dare."

Lucy thought. She had to think of something that would get him back for laughing at her, the little bastard... Wait... She had a great idea... It was oh-so-evil, but oh-so-perfect.

"Happy," Lucy said with an evil smile, "I dare you to kiss Carla tomorrow afternoon."

Happy paled.

"But- but I can't do that!"

"Are you chickening out?"

Lucy smiled evilly at him.

_Ahh, revenge was sweet._

Happy gave her a look of rage, fear and embarrassment mixed. He sighed.

"I hate you, Lucy."

Everyone grinned.

Happy recovered quickly, and spun the bottle.

"Erza!"

"Hey, how come Erza gets a second turn?" Gray pouted, "I haven't gone yet!"

Happy shrugged. "The bottle works in mysterious ways."

"Erza, Truth or Dare?" Happy asked.

Erza thought for a second.

"Truth."

"What's your favorite genre of book?"

"That sounds like something I would ask!" Lucy said.

"Ummm, mystery novels."

Happy gave Erza a look.

"What's your REAL favorite type of book?"

"..."

"Racy romance."

Everyone laughed for a long time.

Erza turned a fierce shade of red.

"Hey... Shut up..." she said with evident embarrassment.

"I'm going to spin." she said, pouting slightly. No one wanted to miss who was going next, so the laughing died and was replaced by looks of interest.

"Gray."

"Finally!" he exclaimed, "I thought the bottle was cursed or something."

_Hmph_, the rarely seen vengeful side of Erza thought, _He was laughing his ass off about the story thing. He'll get a taste his own damn medicine..._

"Gray, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to go on a date with Juvia tomorrow."

"WHAT?"

Gray started blushing.

"Bu- But I can't do that..."

"Are you chickening out?" Happy said with an evil aura about him.

"N- No..."

Gray sighed.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Juvia isn't that bad!" Lucy said.

Natsu and Happy started dancing around the room singing, "Gray's goin' on a daa-aate, Gray's goin' on a daa-aate!"

"You wanna go at it slanty eyes?" Gray challenged angrily, but for once Natsu was more in the mood for singing than fighting.

"Ok," Lucy interrupted, "I think its maybe time to go to bed?"

_Please, please, please no pillow fight_, Lucy prayed.

"Um, while we get ready, why don't I summon Lyra so she can sing for us?"

"Lyra?" Erza shot Lucy a confused look.

"Celestial spirit with the voice of an angel." Lucy promised.

"Open, Gate of the Lyre,"

"Lyra!"

"Lucy!"

Lyra gave her a hug.

"How come you haven't summoned me in so long?" she playfully pouted, "I do get awfully bored!"

"I am only allowed to summon you three times a month."

"Still... So you want me to sing?"

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, that would be great!"

"Right!" Lyra exclaimed.

_"Over the hills_

_Into the sky_

_Dear children in your dreams_

_Fly, fly high._

_You can touch the moon_

_And scorch the sun_

_Taint the memories_

_Of someone you love."_

Erza was the first to clap, the rest joined in after.

"Thanks Lyra." Lucy said quietly. "My pleasure!" she responded as Lucy closed the gate and sent her back into the spirit world.

**Ooh, ooh, ooh! Gray's got a date with Juvia and Erza likes racy romance novels! Yeah, I know, not the best (or longest) chapter, but I wanted to update soon-ish since all of you guys seemed to like it so much. This story will probably be a bit longer than I anticipated, as I'm getting all sorts of ideas... Thank you all for the lovely reviews, follows, favorites, and even views, it's all very encouraging as a writer.**

**-iHelen**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ugh, sorry for the long time- no update, life has been BITCH. I had a really nice, long chapter written for you guys like, a week ago and was gonna upload it, but I accidentally deleted it all... Then I got depressed (actual, medically depressed) over that, and yeah... But I thought of all the really nice reviews you guys have left and have worked hard to rewrite it. I think it's actually better than the other one, so at least a little bit of good came out of it, though I still would have preferred to not have erased it in the first place. Well, enjoy anyways, and I apologize again.**

"Ahhhh..."

Lucy sat up and rubbed her eyes.

_God, she was so sleepy... Natsu's snoring had kept her up all night..._

Natsu's noisy even in his sleep... Lucy sweatdropped.

She gazed down at his sleeping face. He looked calm, untroubled. His lips moved.

"Ig... Neel..."

Her eyes widened.

_He was dreaming about his father, the dragon?_

"Lucy..."

His face contorted.

"Stay... Away... From Igneel... He..."

_What?_

He smiled again.

"I... Like... Ballet..."

_WTF?_

Lucy turned away and looked at the clock.

_I spent 10 minutes just looking at NATSU?!_

_Am I some kind of perv?_ Lucy thought.

"Geez, maybe I should actually DO something with my time and make everyone breakfast..."

She sleepily stumbled into the kitchen.

"What would they like?" Lucy scanned the pantry for something to make. It needed to be better than just some eggs and toast, something that was fancy-ish, but she could make multiples of, and wouldn't take too long or be TOO much of a hassle.

"Waffles!"

Yeah, those would be perfect.

_Oh, wait, her waffle maker was broken..._

"Pancakes then. They probably taste better anyway." she said with a shrug.

"Did someone say pancakes?"

Natsu was standing in the doorway to her kitchen.

"Geez Natsu, is your sense of hearing really so keen that what I just said woke you up?"

_Natsu would never cease to surprise her,_ Lucy thought.

Awkward silence.

"So... Would you like anything on or in your pancakes? I mean, I have blueberries and chocolate and banana if you're interested..."

Lucy didn't know why she was suddenly making the offer. She just wanted to see that... Look on his face that he got whenever he was happy, content. She wanted him to think of her as something other that nakama. She wanted him to smile and say that he loved what she had done, that he was proud of her or something she'd done.

"Lucy?"

Natsu was looking at her.

"Oh, nothing, everything's fine, just spaced out a bit..."

He smiled again.

"Oh. Well, I think some chocolate in my pancakes would be great!"

"Ok!"

"And make them hot!"

"Will do!"

_God, it's like he's used to having someone cook for him._

"Hey, is anyone else up yet?"

Natsu scratched the back of his neck slightly guiltily.

"Well, I tried to wake Erza up, but she mumbled something about being in a thousand pieces if I disturbed her..."

Lucy sweatdropped. Erza was scary even in her sleep.._._

"... But I'm gonna go try Happy."

"Ok!"

"I think he will want chocolate too."

"Isn't that poisonous for cats?"

"Nah, Exceeds are tougher. And I think that's dogs anyway."

_NATSU KNEW SOMETHING I DIDN'T!_

"Ok, well try and get him and the rest up for breakfast without getting killed."

"I'm sure they'll get up for your delicious pancakes!"

"Heh, they're not all that great.."

"Arigato, Lucy!"

He called them delicious..

While cooking, Lucy pondered her feelings for Natsu.

He was an idiot, definitely not the brightest bulb in the box... But he was kind, would do anything for his friends, could never hold a grudge, and was loyal to something of a fault.

The fact that he happened to be very cute didn't exactly deter from his appeal.

She wanted him to think of her as something more than nakama.

Something more than nakama.

Lucy's eyes widened.

_I- I've been falling for him... This whole time..._

_I am in love with Natsu..._

"Here you go!"

Lucy smiled.

She just hoped no one would see her hands trembling slightly.

_You fell for Natsu, you fell for Natsu..._

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. There were a couple more IMPORTANT things that needed to be dealt with.

"Hey... Everyone?"

No one was listening as they all devoured pancake after pancake after pancake...

It was interesting to see who got what kind of pancake.

Erza was having strictly blueberry.

Gray was having blueberry and plain.

Happy was loving the chocolate.

Natsu was eating all three.

Lucy sweatdropped.

They all have such enormous appetites... It's a miracle they don't get fat with all they eat...

"Ahhhh... That was good... Arigato, Lucy-chan..." Happy said.

"You're welcome..."

_He ate 15 chocolate pancakes..._

"Alright, there are a couple things that need to be taken care of."

"Here's the deal. The landlord has charged us 20,000 jewel for the noise we made."

"THAT MUCH?!" everyone yelled.

"I couldn't even get him to lower the price with my feminine wiles. The stupid old man must be blind!"

"Or maybe he's just got some common sense..." Happy whispered.

"Can it, stupid cat."

"I'll pay my share, because I'm the one who hosted you, but you guys all have to pay 4,000 jewel."

"What? I don't have that kind of money!"

Lucy turned her attention to Gray.

"What about that money you're saving up for something that's no doubt stupid?"

"IT'S FOR A VIDEO GAME!"

Lucy gave him a look.

"Ok, ok, I bet I can scrounge up that much..."

"Erza?"

"It is fair that I must pay that. I am deeply sorry that I have caused you this trouble."

"That's not what you said either of the times the landlord came up to complain..." Lucy sweatdropped.

"Fair enough. Natsu?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah I have some money left over from our last job."

_He sounds distracted..._

"Okay," Lucy smiled, "Now that that's taken care of, Happy and Gray have to do their dares today."

Happy turned pale.

"I- I can't kiss Carla..."

Lucy softened.

"Ok, you just have to hug her."

"Arigato, Lucy-chan..."

"Wh- what about me...?" Gray looked at Erza hopefully.

"Hm? Me? I'm not changing my dare one bit."

Gray turned a rather interesting greenish-pink.

Everyone sweatdropped.

Erza was merciless...

"Well," Lucy said, hoping to lift the rather nervous mood, "Why don't we get dressed and go back to the guild?"

Natsu grinned.

"I'm all for it, soon as our little stripper here puts on some clean clothes."

"Oi!"

**Oooh, ooh, little bit of NaLu action there...**

**Also, I am not a fast writer. I like to take my time to make sure that it's good and that I like it, and I explained at the beginning the bitch situation I was in before. However, I already started writing the next chapter, so that should be out soon! **

**I have been reading a lot of NatsuxLucy fan fiction, I think that's where that little NaLu bit came from... When I'm done with this, should I write some NaLu stuff? Thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews, I love all of you, every view and review makes me happy, and I will see you soon with another chapter (if I don't delete it)! **


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Mira!"

Lucy smiled and waved at the pretty bartender as she walked in.

"Hey, Lucy-chan!"

"Mira... I need to tell you something. You're the only same person here and the only one who can keep a secret..."

Mira looked at her.

"Whatever it is, you can trust me."

Lucy looked down.

_Am I sure this is a good idea?_ She thought to herself.

"Well..." Lucy blushed.

"I've realized that I've kinda, erm, fallen for Natsu."

Mira's eyes widened.

"I always knew you were a cute couple!"

Lucy looked up.

"But he obviously doesn't return my feelings."

"Please. You think you're the only one who's come to me with their sensitive secrets?"

This time it was Lucy's turn to have wide eyes.

"Y- You don't mean..."

"Well, he didn't actually come to ME- I'm more for girls- he went to Gildarts and he told me. And besides, everyone can tell he has deeper feelings for you. That's why Lisanna said you could have him. It's why everyone teases you about boyfriends."

"And also," Mira giggled, "I think she likes Bixlow!"

BIXLOW?! An image of his narrow eyes, large tongue and maniacal laugh filled her mind.

"Bixlow... Will you marry me?"

[maniacal laugh]

"My babies... Want more... I want to make babies with you..."

Lucy shuddered at the thought.

"I knew you guys were the perfect couple!"

"Agghhhhhhh! Levy-chan! Were you listening the whole time?"

She shook her head.

"Only long enough to hear that Natsu and you both like each other!"

"What? Natsu and Lucy like each other?" Wendy said with excitement.

"Where is everyone coming from?!" Lucy shrieked.

"Maybe Lucy'll finally get together with Natsu and she'll have her first boyfriend."

"CANA!"

"Is it really that obvious that I like Natsu?" Lucy said with depression in her voice.

Everyone nodded.

_I'm mortified.._.

"Don't be too sad, Lucy-chan. It's equally as obvious that Natsu likes you!" Mira said, trying to comfort her.

"It's not working..." Lucy groaned.

Gray walked slowly. He was trying to procrastinate the humiliating ordeal for as long as he could.

"Hey! Stripper! Put on some clothes!"

He stripped whenever he got anxious... Thanks to the training of Ur, he feared he would never break the habit...

"Good morning, Gray-sama!"

Juvia had walked over to him.

_Dammit, she had unknowingly ruined his plan! _

"Juvia... Gray blushed.

_How am I going to phrase this...? _

"Um..."

"Gray?" _She was looking at him weird, goddamn. _

For some reason, Gray started thinking of the time when she had practically risen from the dead to fight for his life.

"Um, well, erm... I was wondering if you would..." Gray cleared his throat. "I, um, wanted to go to Hargeon... To, um, see the ocean... And I was wondering if you would, um, come with me?"

Juvia's smile was wide and her eyes sparkled.

"Juvia would love to come!"

"Oh, ok, um, when would work best?"

_I can't believe I'm doing this... _

"Whatever time would work for Juvia's beloved Gray-sama!"

_Oh, god, he was in the spotlight. _

"Erm, how about 9:00? And then we can have lunch there?" What am I doing?!

"That would be wonderful!"

Gray smiled.

Even when she was being annoying, seeing Juvia smile made his heart light.

"Juvia is so excited for her date with Gray..." she sang as she skipped away.

_Date... What would it be like of he was actually Juvia's boyfriend? Gray thought. Juvia was very pretty, had a good, if slightly obessed head on her shoulders, and was so loyal, she was willing to die for him.._.

"It couldn't be that bad..."

Juvia skipped off to find Lucy.

"Lucy will see now... Gray-sama has chosen Juvia over her..."

"... Obvious that I like Natsu?"

"Don't be too sad, Lucy-chan. It's equally as obvious that Natsu likes you!"

Juvia's eyes widened.

"Lucy... Was never Juvia's love rival?!"

Lucy turned around.

"Juvia!"

She started blushing.

The next thing Lucy knew, Juvia had started suffocating her in a huge hug.

"Thank you Lucy, you are so kind to let me have Gray-sama!"

_She's suffocating me!_ Lucy thought.

Juvia finally let go and Lucy blushed.

"I suppose you heard about me liking Natsu as well?" she said warily.

"Yes, yes! You two are a perfect couple!"

Lucy's head turned about the shade of Natsu's favorite color: Red.

"But not as perfect as Juvia and Gray-sama!"

Everyone sweatdropped as Juvia's visions filled their minds.

"Gray-sama asked me out on a date!"

"What?!" Mira, Levy, Wendy, Carla, and Lucy all said.

"We're going to Hargeon at 9 today!"

Mira was the first to recover. "Wow, Juvia that's great!"

"You guys really look good together, a water Mage and an ice Mage!" Levy added.

"I wonder how Lyon's going to react..." Lucy sweatdropped.

"Speaking of a date, maybe you should ask Natsu on one!" Wendy said with a giggle.

Lucy blushed.

_I certainly do a lot of that, don't I, nowadays.._.

Natsu sat down at the table. He looked to see where his friends were.

Erza was talking with Master, probably about some job or something.

Gray had stripped and Wakaba was yelling at him, presumably about putting on some clothes.

Oh look, he idly thought, they're fighting...

Lucy was over by the bar, talking Juvia. Levy, Mira, Wendy, and Carla seemed to also be participating. He wondered vaguely what they were talking about.

Yawn.

He was tired and full of Lucy's pancakes too, which were, as predicted, delicious.

Lucy... She was so happy this morning. She had asked him what kind of pancakes he wanted... She took care of him. It was no wonder he liked her.

The thought made him blush. He thought of the real reason why he was always at her place. Everything smelled like her. She had an interesting smell. She smelled like books and strawberry shampoo and flowers. She also kind of smelled like warm rain and burnt toast. And brownies. All of these smells made Lucy smell like Lucy. When Gemini impersonated her, it was scary. Because they didn't smell like anything. At all.

Lucy was hot, very hot, smart, caring, and he loved her. All her little flaws, all her sweatdrops, all her vanity, all her frowns when she was concerned, all her everything. He was in love with Heartfilia, he was sure of it.

"Lucy... Do you love me too?"

**Everyone got a little action, ooh, ooh. **

**For some reason, I think mildly burnt toast smells good. Also, this story pretty much takes place in whatever arc I am currently watching, so sorry for any inconsistency or incorrect knowledge. Thank you for reading and reviewing and I will see you soon with a new chapter! -iHelen **

**P.S. I am not a Steve Jobs/Apple fangirl. I love my iPhone as much as anyone, but my friends and I came up with iHelen LONG before iAnythings even existed.**


	5. Chapter 5

Natsu thought about Lucy. He definitely liked her... Yes, in that way. It had taken him a while to realize it and he had told no one but Gildarts about it. Actually, Gildarts had helped him realize it himself.

_"Natsu? Is something wrong?"_

_"Nah... Just thinking..."_

Gildarts had looked at him, his eyes piercing him.

Natsu had sighed then, giving in.

_"It's Lucy."_

Gildarts's eyebrows shot up with interest.

"Mm? What about her?"

Natsu had paused there. It felt a bit uncomfortable, talking with Gildarts about Lucy.

"She... On our last job, she got hurt." Natsu took a deep breath. "Real bad. Blood... Was everywhere."

"She almost died. And... I could have saved her."

Natsu's jaw tightened.

"If... I had just moved a little quicker... I could have shoved her aside and the wyvern wouldn't have hit her..."

Natsu buried his head in his hands.

"We were at a bathhouse the other night... And I accidentally..." Natsu turned a bit red. "Saw her... The scar..." His voice cracked. "The scar was awful."

Gildarts had sympathized. He knew what it was like to see someone you cared about hurt, badly. It was not something you could just forget about instantly.

_Too see something like that happen to one of your best friends... And feeling so guilty..._

"Natsu, it wasn't your fault... It was the wyvern's... Don't feel guilty..." Gildarts tried to comfort him. The words felt hollow. Even though he, no one, blamed Natsu in the slightest, he had never been the person to come to when comforting or tact was needed... No, that was Mira all the way.

Natsu had sure talked about Lucy a lot. Could he be feeling more than just the general nakama atmosphere in Fairy Tail?

He was so worked up about this...

_No way... Natsu LIKED Lucy?_

"Ah, young love..." Gildarts had said teasingly to himself.

_God, he was becoming a romantic like Mirajane..._

"Natsu..." He was going to have to be careful in how he worded this.

_But I'm no good at holding back,_ he groaned mentally.

"Do you have any FEELINGS for Lucy-san?"

"Mm? She's just my weird friend."

Inside though, he knew that wasn't true. He had been so freaked out when she was hurt. It had almost been unnatural.

That wyvern had payed, BIG TIME for what he did to Lucy...

The beast was merely a bunch of ashes when he was done with it, and he still hadn't quite felt satisfied.

"Natsu?"

Gildarts was studying him intensely.

_Maybe he didn't quite comprehend what I was asking..._ Gildarts thought with a sweatdrop.

"Do you know what I mean by 'feelings'?"

Natsu thought for a moment.

"Um, more than friends? Like married?"

_Probably not._ He should have known, Natsu was not one for subtlety.

"Natsu, do you like Lucy?"

"Yeah, she's my best friend."

Facepalm.

"Have you ever considered the fact that you might be in love with her?"

There. He said it, straight out.

He hoped Natsu wasn't a bigger idiot than he thought... _Natsu was so dense..._

Natsu's eyes widened.

Love?

_Love... Such a foreign thing,_ he thought, _something meant for Fairy Tales. _

Pun intended.

No, love was not something that happened every day to badass Natsu Dragoneel.

He supposed he loved his friends, Happy, Erza, MAYBE Gray and the rest of the guild, in that "I would literally kill the person that hurt them" way, but Lucy... She was a little different. She felt a little different. Like he sometimes worried about his appearance in front of her (NOT NORMAL) and such trivial things like that. As for her, she always looked great, whether she'd been fighting for days, or had just popped out of the shower.

He felt like a bit of a perv around her sometimes on the somewhat rare occasion when hormones wouldn't let him stop looking at her rack.

And if someone even harmed a hair on her head, he had to admit, it bothered him WAY more than it should have.

_Was Gildarts right..._

He thought of all the times he had been looking at her, so fierce and stubborn and... Beautiful.

He thought back to when he had first seen her.

She had fallen for Bora's spell and thanked him for breaking it. She had taken him out for lunch after and told him about her dream to become a Fairy Tail wizard. And he had kept thinking about this hot wizard girl and followed her to Bora.

They had been together for so long... As friends.

And Natsu had realized right then, that he had moved forward from that.

"Juvia hopes Gray-sama didn't get lost..."

Juvia scanned the area, looking for the ice mage she so dearly loved.

She as taken care in her appearance, her normal tight curls were gone, instead her hair flowed naturally over her shoulders. Her dress was simple, a deep blue, tight fitting, so that it accented her curves. It stopped at the knee. The straps hung loosely around her bicep area and were made of blue silk.

"Ah, Gray-sama!"

Juvia smiled at Gray.

He had to admit, she looked like a million bucks. He blushed as he looked at her. Maybe he should have put a little more time into his own appearance...

_Nah, it wasn't like an actual date, it was just a stupid dare Erza made him do._

But she had dressed up like it was one...

For some reason, he felt a twinge in his heart, that felt a little like... Guilt?

"Would Gray-sama like to go to the shore, or tour Hargeon?"

"Hm, oh..." He thought for a moment. "Let's go to the shore."

_Maybe some fresh sea air will make me stop feeling guilty, for some stupid reason. _

They walked through the winding streets, talking. Just idle chatter, to waste time while the couple made their way to the beach.

"Wow..." Juvia took off her shoes and gazed, awestruck, at the green-blue waves.

Gray was impressed too. He noted that the sky was bright and clear. They couldn't have chosen a better day.

"Gray-sama? Do you see the water?"

"Yeah... It's nice."

To be honest, he was kind of distracted. He was kind of enjoying this, hanging out with Juvia, 1 on 1, which disturbed him a little. Wasn't she always constantly talking? He was supposed to be annoyed.

And yet, here he was, admiring her outfit and how it looked on her _(Am I turning into Lucy?!)_, how she was always going to be there for him, enjoying her, having a good time-

No, no, no, this was just a dare, a "date" with Juvia, he was just suffering Erza's anger and embarrassment at being laughed at...

_Juvia?! Where was Juvia?!_

"Gray-sama!"

She was laughing, waving him over to the water that she was letting wash over her ankles.

He smiled. Maybe he should go. It wasn't like Erza had forbidden him to have fun.

"I'm soaked..." Gray moaned.

"Juvia cannot help with that..." She lamented. "Where would Gray-sama like to go next?"

Gray looked at the sky thoughtfully. It had been clear earlier, but it was starting to cloud over. _Was Juvia causing this?_

He glanced sideways at her. She was off in daydream land, no doubt having one of her sexual fantasies about him, he sweatdropped.

"I guess somewhere indoors. It looks like it might rain."

He tensed as Juvia slumped down, sadly.

"Juvia brings rain everywhere... Even on her first date... With Gray-sama. Juvia is a gloomy rain woman."

"N-No, I'm sure it's just a coincidence, a-and I like rain and water, I mean, water IS ice, you know?"

Gray definitely disliked seeing Juvia sad like this. Especially when it was because of him.

"Really? Gray-sama doesn't mind the rain?"

"N-No-"

"Gray-sama is so noble and charming!"

_Aaaaand she was in fantasy land..._

"Um... Should we, like go to lunch?"

"If Gray-sama says so, Juvia will go!"

**Sorry it was kind of a long time with no update, but I got writers block (I know, bluck). The chapter wasn't fantastic, I know, but it's my longest chapter! [YAHOO!] Okay, so I know I didn't describe Juvia's dress well, but I have no clue what that kind of dress that is. Picture it like Belle's dress, the Disney version. You know that yellow one she's always wearing? That's the type of sleeve or strap or whatever that was on her dress. And I can't write Natsu very well, I know. Or Gildarts. **

**I think I'm going to eat chocolate and watch Fairy Tail and be jealous of their lives now.**

**It's late when I'm writing this... For some reason, I stay up until, like 11 and I always get more motivated to write and I write more, and better. Maybe it's what I call my "Midnight-Bright Light" High. I am in the middle of watching the Tenrou island arc right now, and I saw the cutest Gruvia moment, when Ultear tries to kill Juvia and Gray rescues her! [Otaku screaming]**

**Well, I'll see you later with another chapter! After I finish this story, should I do a NaLu, a SoMa (Soul Eater), a TaHa (OHSHC) or a Blair and Spirit (Soul Eater) as friends fan fic? Ugh, I'm thinking too far ahead! I have to finish this story before I can plan that out! Please leave it in a review, or PM me and we can talk! And as always, love your reviews and favorites and follows!**

**-iHelen**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the no update for a while, please enjoy this chapter as a reward for your patience! -iHelen**

If anyone had looked at them, they would have seen a couple, a girl, happy as could be, and a boy, smiling somewhat hesitantly, as if slightly reluctant to admit he was having a good time. They were both looking at a map of Hargeon, with the girl pointing at various places and the boy gesturing at others.

"Gray-sama, should we go here?"

"Nah, the food's terrible there. How about here?"

Juvia hesitated for a moment.

"But the waiters and waitresses dislike former members of Phantom Lord there, though it pains Juvia to disagree with her beloved Gray-sama..."

Gray sighed. There was the annoying Juvia he knew.

They finally agreed on a place, a pub called Dragon's Plight.

"This place doesn't look like it's in that sketchy of an area, Natsu's been there and says it's good."

"Though that hothead doesn't know anything about food." Gray added.

Juvia had agreed and they walked there.

Though Gray didn't say it out loud for fear of making Juvia depressed or angry, the sky got darker every minute or so they walked, and he feared it would rain.

"Juvia the Rain Woman." Gray said quietly to himself. "I'm on a date with Juvia the Rain Woman."

_Didn't sound half bad._

Natsu looked at the sky, worry evident on his face.

_It's gonna rain..._ he thought to himself. He didn't like rain, it made his flames less potent.

He looked at Gray and Juvia. He half smiled to himself. He was as far from someone like Mira, quite the romantic, as he was from the guild right now, but he had to admit that if he didn't concentrate on ice head too much, they kinda looked cute together.

"Why did I have to come and get wet?" Lucy whined.

He'd almost forgotten about Lucy. When he'd thought of the plan to follow Gray and Juvia, to make sure he was actually doing the dare, he had asked for Lucy's help.

Definitely not in the least because he wanted to go out with her or plant the idea of him dating her in her head, no, such an idea would be silly.

She'd been very quiet, which was unusual for the chatty mage, he was slightly worried.

"That does it..."

"Open, Gate of the Clock,"

"Hologoriam!"

By the time Natsu turned around, she was inside the giant clock's... Belly? He didn't really know what that was called... Maybe he should ask Lucy later.

"'It is nice and warm and dry in here' Lucy-san says" Hologoriam said.

"Shhhhh, Gray'll hear!"

Hologoriam said nothing in response, so he assumed Lucy agreed.

He shouldn't have brought her along, he was becoming distracted by her, thinking about her, wondering if she had always been this cute...

_Gah, no, he couldn't think like that, he had to focus on Gray and Juvia._

And take pictures, too.

"'Natsu, I don't see why we have to do this anymore,' she says." Hologoriam said, "'We know he's doing the date, why don't we just go home?' Lucy-san complains."

Natsu grinned and held up the camera. "Cuz I gotta take pictures!"

"'You are so immature...' She sighs."

Natsu peeked out from behind his pillar and searched for Juvia and Gray.

_Where were they?_

He groaned.

"Kyaaaa, thanks a lot Lucy, now I've lost sight of them!"

Hologoriam disappeared in a puff of smoke and Lucy gave a little gasp.

"It's probably for the best, we don't want to get careless and have him catch us." she sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Yeah, Lucy was probably right.

"It looks like it's going to rain..." she said, looking at the sky anxiously.

_I wonder if it's safe to tell him..._

The thing about storms was that she was deadly afraid of thunder. Lucy absolutely HATED it.

_Like Haruhi Fujioka..._

_Oh well, it's probably safe to tell him. He's trustworthy, and loyal..._

Lucy smiled.

_It's what I like about him._

"And why you LOOOOOOOOVE him..."

A terrifying image of Happy rolling his tongue at her appeared in her head, making her both sweatdrop and shudder.

"Um, Natsu..."

Natsu looked at the sheepish looking mage.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I'm kind of, you know, afraid of thunder, maybe?..."

Lucy trailed off as he gave her a weird look.

Suddenly, he pulled her close, in something resembling an embrace, only from the side.

"Does that make things better?"

Lucy was too surprised to answer immediately.

_This actually does help..._

It felt good, to have Natsu's warmth so close.

"Yeah..." she whispered, "It helps a lot."

Natsu suddenly turned quite red and loosened his grip on Lucy a little bit.

Why had he done that? She probably thought he was some kind of creep now.

He would have understood too as he felt like one at the moment. Having her so close, especially having her, erm, boobs so close triggered hormones which in turn triggered...

Ahem.

But... She was smiling. She had liked it.

Deciding to put the whole incident behind him, he wondered where they could go to have lunch or something, at least to escape the rain that was going to come. They lost sight of Gray, they might as well have a good time in pretty Hargeon.

"Hmm... I know a place called 'Dragon's Plight' that's a good place to eat. Wanna go there?" Natsu said with the usual grin on his face.

"Yeah, sure!" Lucy said, just a little too quickly.

"OK, let's go this way..."

"I think this is the place."

Gray and Juvia stood in front of a smallish building that looked like it had been there for quite a while. It was made of dark wood and it looked a little, well,

"Sketchy..." Gray said.

"Is Gray-sama displeased with Natsu?" Juvia said, casting a concerned glance at her beloved Gray.

"Nah, maybe the food is good."

_God, he was hungry. Juvia could probably hear his stomach screaming for nourishment._

"Let's go in." Gray said. Juvia nodded and they entered the Dragon's Plight.

The first thing they noticed was the smell.

The shop by itself probably would have smelled dank and musty. But aromas floated around inside, masked the natural smell extremely well. It smelled like good food, fish and chips, macaroni and cheese, anything that smelled delicious that you can imagine.

Gray was in shock for a few seconds and then he shook his head.

"I should have figured Natsu would at least have good taste in food.

Led by their noses, they walked down a rather long hallway until coming to a room with a few yellow lights.

"Ey' little lady, wan' a drink? You can leave this shrimp and come back to my place tonight?..."

Gray was about to hit the stupid drunk dick, but Juvia got there first.

"Juvia!-Will!-Never!-Leave!-Her!-Beloved!-GRAY-SAMA!" she said, puctuating each word with a water punch and taking a step forward until they were head to head. Well, as head-to- head as they could be, considering Juvia had knocked the man so hard that he had flown through the wall behind the bar.

"Uh, Juvia?" Gray said nervously, "You didn't need to go THAT far..."

"Is Gray-sama unhappy with Juvia? Juvia is sorry! Please hit Juvia!"

God, she could be annoying sometimes.

"No, let's go..." He said with reluctance. Everyone was staring at them.

The barmaid, who had been listening to the exchange, spoke up.

"Um, Gray-san? Would you like a different room?"

"Different room?" Gray turned and looked at her. He didn't really want to leave, the smell was so enticing... A different room where no one would be staring at them would be ideal...

The barmaid was pretty, with many curves. She had very long, black hair and large blue eyes. She actually looked kind of familiar.

Gray squinted. "Do I know you?"

Juvia looked from Gray to the barmaid.

"Are you Juvia's love rival?" she hissed menacingly.

"No, no, why would I know you, of course not, I don't know you, how could I?" she laughed.

"What's your name?"

The barmaid seemed a little shocked.

"It's, ah, Julia!" she said, looking at them.

"Hm. I don't know any Julias. Never mind. What were you saying about rooms?"

"The unique thing about this place is that it has different rooms to dine in. This really is a large place. Just head down the hall and to the right, and you'll see the red room. If you go a bit farther, you'll find the flower room. And even further is the earth room, ha ha, heh heh..." she said, rubbing the back of her head guiltily.

"Okay, thank you!"

"Let's go Juvia."

"But you didn't punish Juvia, Gray-sama..."

They walked out of the room and Mira sighed.

"Gray and Juvia are so KAWAII!" she exclaimed, removing the wig to reveal long, silvery white hair. "I hope the rest of their date goes well!" She giggled.

"Gray is so clueless about his feelings for her! I just had to see how it all worked out!"

Lucy looked up skeptically at the sign.

"Natsu, doesn't this place look just a little sketchy?"

He tilted his head and smiled at her.

"Nah, the occasional drunk ass shows up there, but it's cool. It's actually really big inside, there must be some kind of spell on it."

He turned to her and grinned.

"C'mon, I need to show you my favorite room, the red room!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

"God, I hope no stupid drunk ass tries to hit on me..." she thought. It had happened before, many times. A visit from Loke usually fixed the problem. He and Aries had gotten together and they were so cute! Aries was still a timid lamb, but if prompted, she really was a bit of a chatterbox about her boyfriend, Loke.

Natsu opened the door and the smell hit her.

"It smells good..." she said, taking in the aroma.

"But," she said, slightly irritated, "Very fatty. And if Happy torments me any more about my weight..."

But it smells so gooooooood... The little voice in Lucy's head crooned.

"I suppose it's alright to eat here with Natsu, to be polite..."

"Lucy?"

Natsu was looking at her.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing..."

**Okay, hope you enjoyed! Sorry, no behind the scenes this time, next chapter will have the behind the scenes for this one and that one. As always, you're views and reviews make me happy! Favorites and follows too, I wonder why people always neglect saying that. Also, I think I beat my long chapter record! :D**

**-iHelen**


	7. Chapter 7

Gray swore.

"Gray-sama?"

"I have to go to the bathroom..." He looked around, as if expecting a sign that saying, "BATHROOM: THIS WAY:" to appear in front of him. "Damn. I have no clue where it is."

Gray thought. "Maybe if we keep walking, we'll find a room and we can ask the bartender!"

"Juvia thinks that is a great idea! Juvia's Gray-sama is so smart!"

Gray rolled his eyes and started down the hall.

"Would it really be so detrimental to their budget to add some goddamn lights?!" Gray said irritably when Juvia bumped into him.

"Juvia does not mind the dark if she can touch her Gray-sama in it..."

**(A/N I know what you're thinking, you pervs... And she did NOT mean it that way)**

"Juvia, you take that side and I'll take this side. Rub the wall until you feel a door or something."

Juvia nodded, and then realized that Gray-sama probably couldn't see her in the dark, so said, "Yes, Gray-sama."

They felt along the wall for a while, Gray muttering, "This place is huge..." and wondering what kind of spell had obviously been cast on it to make it so, until Juvia said,

"Gray-sama? Over here."

They rubbed the wall until Gray found the handle and they opened the door.

They blinked.

Everything in the room had been painted a shade of gold. The walls, the tables, the glasses and utensils were all gilded, varying from light to dark to almost yellow colored. If it was classified as yellow or gold, it was here. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but when Gray and Juvia's eyes adjusted, they realized it was a clever idea and that it didn't look too bad.

They glanced at the bar.

The barmaid was pretty and had dark gold hair, yellow eyes, and a long, full, strapless gold dress made of satin and taffeta.

_She must have been perfect for the job, with everything so gilded about her_... Gray thought.

He blushed. She was very pretty.

Gray began to sweat. Had he done his hair? No, damn it, it had just been a fake date with Juvia, he hadn't bothered with anything.

The barmaid noticed them (Well, Gray anyways) and walked over to them.

"Hello, my name is Sharlene."

She let out a giggle.

"Welcome to the Gold Room!"

Giggle.

She leaned in close to Gray's face and brought her hand up to his face to gently caress it.

"And who might you be...?" she whispered seductively.

Gray gulped. Having a really, really hot girl this close to him did not increase his comfort level at all, both physically and mentally. "G- Gray Fullbuster... Sharlene..."

She giggled like something was funny and then seemed to notice Juvia for the first time. She raised her eyebrows and said, "And you are?"

Juvia's evil aura flared up. "Juvia Locker, who will one day be Juvia Fullbuster, so don't you lay a hand on Juvia's Gray-sama, Sharlene-san." She added the honorific reluctantly, and for the first time, didn't ask Gray-sama's permission before dragging him away.

"Wait."

Sharlene grabbed Gray's arm.

"Why do you want to go with that wench? You and I, you know, we could have a little fun, in the back room maybe?"

If Gray was going to be honest with himself, there was some temptation to abandon Juvia and go to "have some fun". But that would be wrong, a douchy thing to do, and he couldn't and didn't want to even imagine Erza's rage at him doing that.

"Erm, nah, let's go Juvia..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Okay, next door."

They opened it up and voila, the red room. It was similar to the gold room, only with, well, red.

"Let's not talk to ANYONE and just go sit down before someone picks a fight." Gray muttered to Juvia, who nodded in agreement.

They sat down in a booth. At first it was awkward.

"So... Um... Juvia. Do you have any parents?"

"Juvia's parents are dead."

Gray didn't want to press the matter, as her voice had become tight and she looked a little sad.

"A lot of people in Fairy Tail don't have parents." Gray said. "I mean, Cana has Gildarts, but that's about it."

They both considered this dark topic and wallowed in sadness.

A waitress came soon after to take their orders, but otherwise, it was silent at their table, Gray thinking about Deliora, and Juvia thinking about the fire that had taken her parents. It was grim, but at the same time, there was a kind of bonding, mutual understanding about what it was like to feel a loss of a parent.

It was understanding.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Natsu, it's really dark in here."

"What? I can see fine."

Lucy rolled her eyes in exasperation. Natsu's dragon vision allowed him to see really well in the dark.

"It may seem light to YOU, but I can't see a thing in here!"

Natsu sighed. "Just feel the walls."

They continued for a while until they reached the red room.

"Here's my favorite room!"

Lucy blinked.

"Wow Natsu..." Lucy had no words. "It's really, um, cool. And bright."

Then she noticed.

"Omigosh Natsu, that's Gray and Juvia sitting over there!"

"What?! Ice head and water girl?"

"C'mon Natsu, let's go say hi." Lucy smiled. "Maybe we can eat with them. After all, it's not like they KNOW we're following them. Or were."

"Fine..." Natsu grumbled.

They really looked like they were having a good time. They were talking and Gray was smiling, Lucy noted.

Natsu and Lucy walked over to the booth.

"Hey, Gray, Juvia!" Lucy smiled politely at them.

Gray looked up in surprise. "Oh hey."

_Why were they here, on his outing with Juvia?_

"We came to see if you were doing the dare or not."

"Natsu..." Lucy hissed. "We weren't supposed to tell him about that, idiot."

"Well I am. So why are you still bothering me?"

Natsu shrugged. "We thought you might wuss out on us."

"I'm wouldn't wuss out! Erza would KILL me."

Lucy rolled her eyes and looked at Juvia.

Something was very wrong with her.

She looked back and forth, from Gray to Natsu. Her eyes were wide and glistening.

"Were you ENJOYING yourself, Gray?" Natsu said teasingly.

"Shut up! I only did it because it was a stupid dare! I didn't care about Juvia at all!"

Lucy was the first one to realize it.

"Guys..." She growled, "Shut up..."

But it was too late.

"Gray-sama... Doesn't care about Juvia at all?"

She tried as hard as she could to keep herself composed, but her lip trembled slightly.

Gray looked over at her like a deer in headlights. forth, from Gray to Natsu. Her eyes were wide and glistening.

"Were you ENJOYING yourself, Gray?" Natsu said teasingly.

"Shut up! I only did it because it was a stupid dare! I didn't care about Juvia at all!"

Lucy was the first one to realize it.

"Guys..." She growled, "Shut up..."

But it was too late.

"Gray-sama... Doesn't care about Juvia at all?"

She tried as hard as she could to keep herself composed, but her lip trembled slightly.

Gray looked over at her like a deer in headlights.

"No... Juvia, that's not it!"

"Juvia..." Gray called weakly, his argument with Natsu forgotten.

He felt something wet on his hand. It was a single tear from Juvia, and as he watched, it evaporated, leaving only a bitter memory in its wake.

**NOTE: This is combining the behind the scenes for this chapter and the last.**

**Alright, that was unexpected! This was part of the concept story I (kinda) planned out. My concept story was actually quite different from the published one. I just had an image of a lake, with Juvia and Gray sitting by it. And I wondered how that would come to be, thus creating the sleepover and the dare. Later, perhaps after I wrote chapter 2 or 3, I thought about how Gray kind of took Juvia for granted, and I thought of Gray having to earn her back. So that's kind of what I'm following now, I actually don't have a specific direction now, I'm just going to watch Gray do what he'll do, and hope for the best... The original concept story didn't include Natsu or Lucy at ALL, but I felt that Juvia had to learn that it was all a dare after all. So I had Natsu come in. And after realizing the NaLu-ness of the story, I plopped her in, because I knew that I could write a sweet NaLu moment and also because, well, it's just a lot of fun to write Lucy! :D Sharlene was REALLY spur of the moment, I had to make her character unique and I just wrote her in as a situation to make Gray a little snippy and ticked for the climax, and also bring out my inner "Angel of Chaos" (Black Butler reference, anyone?) in writing, and to add a little Gruvia before next chapter which will hopefully be Gruvia heaven. I actually don't know, I normally release chapters as soon as I write them, unless, for some reason, I have no access to the Internet through my iPhone, which is where I write this shit, and then I email it to myself so I can upload on my computer, which is way easier to upload on then a mobile device. **

**When Lucy summons Hologoriam, I'm sorry if I got the name wrong, I know, I suck for that, it kinda pisses me off when other people do that, but I'm just as bad... So for my next fanfic, I was thinking I could write a spin-off of this fanfic, only it'll be a NaLu. What do you think? Will you read that?**

**Thanks for waiting, my interest in the story kind of waned a little... Did you know that I've never actually finished a story before? I've always stopped halfway. My dad did that with art. I love to draw as well as write, and I always finish my drawings, but I can never seem to manage to do that with my stories. But I'm determined to make this my first one. **

**Hey, about the whole Lucy-hates-thunder thing, I have recently been rewatching Ouran High School Host Club, and I wanted a sweet moment between Natsu and Lucy, even though this story isn't supposed to be about them. And if you're wondering why I never do Juvia's POV (which you probably aren't), it's for 2 reasons. A) I am bad enough at writing Juvia already, I can't possibly know what she thinks, beyond the usual fantasy, and B) Do you really want to know? I might do her POV on the future, though, give her some depth and all, but it just hasn't really been advantageous so far. **

**You know, I really enjoy writing this "behind the scenes" segment of my stories. Do you like it, or even read it? I hope you do. Is it pointless to write this?**

**As always, just your views and reviews make me a very happy girl! And your favorites and follows make me happy too!**

**-iHelen**

**P.S. Sorry if characters seem a bit OOC.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's a little chapter to satisfy you. :) Sorry for long time, no update.**

**NOTE:** The first segment of this chapter was INSPIRED by Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Prince. So all you people out there, don't freak out because I'm giving credit and it's not totally like it.

Juvia did not cry.

Besides the first tear she let out, they would not come.

Juvia did not understand why they wouldn't. Gray-sama had stomped all over Juvia's heart. She should feel something more than just... Nothing. An empty blankness. A space waiting to be filled.

At least rage would be a reasonable emotion, if not deep, deep, depression. Juvia looked around her room. Gray was everywhere. There were Gray pillows, Gray dolls, all of the little Gray action figures that Max sold at the merchandise stand, several Gray portraits on the walls, even a lock of his hair that she kept by her bed stand at night. If she looked up, she would see the Gray mural that she had painted there. She had made him so noble in the picture, add a crown, sunset, and horse and he would be her prince, riding into the sunset.

Bisca outside (some mail of Juvia's had arrived at her address on accident) sensing the eerie silence, decided not to come in, for eerie silences were never good.

Juvia mechanically stood up. She walked over to the fire and took a poker out.

_Eerie silences..._

She heated it in the fire.

_Are never good!_

And stabbed it at her heart.

Now she cried, the dam burst, as Bisca ran in, she was wailing inconsolably, and all of Fairy Hills heard and many rushed down. Juvia just curled up into a little ball and rocked back and forth as she sobbed and sobbed. All her misery at her unrequited love poured out, as she sobbed and wished the day had never happened and she could just cease to exist, pop the bubble, leave the nightmare.

Illlllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllll

It was 9 PM and Gray was drunk.

Not in that celebrity "I'm, like, totally wasted", but in that, "I seem sober but I'm really depressed and want to do anything to distract myself instead of dealing with the issue" way.

After Juvia had left, Lucy and Natsu had split up, with Lucy trying to follow Juvia, and Natsu sitting there with Gray, trying to awkwardly comfort his rival.

"I didn't mean it like that..."

Gray moaned and dug his face in his hands. Natsu awkwardly patted his arm. After a while (20 minutes) of failed arm-patting, he bought Gray a beer (getting the fake ID had been a present from Gildarts a while ago. "This may come in handy someday." He had said seriously.). It had helped, and he bought a few more.

After a while, Gray pushed Natsu off him, pretty damn drunk, and wandered off into the streets. It started to rain softly and a tear leaked down his cheeks. "Juvia-chan... You left me..."

He stumbled over a loose stone in the street and cursed.

"Fuck! Just when everything was going right..."

He picked up the stone.

"You're like my dearest Juvia-chan, tripping me up... Oh Juvia-chan, Juvia-chama..."

He heard footsteps and whirled around.

It was Sharlene. In her radiant goldness, she looked like an angel.

"Hello, Gray-sama."

She sounded like Juvia-chan! Or maybe it was Julia, Juvia was very uncommon...

His vision spun in and out of focus. It was Sharlene, it was Juvia, it was Sharlene again... Juvia now...

"Yes? I'll do anything... Anything."

Juvia smiled. Or Sharlene. It didn't matter, he just wanted for someone... Someone like Julia, Juvia-chan.

"Come with me. I'm off work now, come by my place, and you know..."

She came close and her hot breath filled his ear.

"Have some fun."

Gray followed her, in a trance, over to a small apartment. He dimly wondered if he was in the same neighborhood as Lucy.

The apartment was small, dingy, and cramped. The only attractive thing was the bed, which was pink and frilly. Sharlene wasted no time. She pushed him on the bed and unbuttoned his shirt.

Gray felt a slight twitch of discomfort when she gazed down at him hungrily, but didn't move when she leaned in to kiss.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The burn was bad.

It was nothing Wendy couldn't heal, but if Bisca hadn't rushed in at the time she had, everyone shuddered at the thought of what could have happened. There was a pale white scar where she had stabbed the poker into her chest.

She put her hand there now and remembered what had happened.

It had taken hours to get her to stop sobbing, and even then she wouldn't come out with what had happened. Eventually, everyone realized the best thing to do was to leave her alone and they walked back to their respective rooms.

Juvia sighed. She supposed she should go thank Bisca and Wendy. Asuka would be fun to see, as always. Juvia tried to smile at the thought of her, but failed. She walked over to the mirror and frowned. Her dress was ripped apart, perhaps from angry clawing nails, and snotty and tear-stained. She tore it off, like she could get rid of the memories of this evening by getting rid of it.

She walked over to her closet and chose a random assortment of clothes. It wasn't like she had Gray-sama to impress.

No. He wasn't Gray-sama anymore. He was Gray-san. Gray-kun. He was simply a silly old crush. She'd fallen head-over-heels at first sight and had been blind-sighted to his flaws.

Juvia walked up a few flights of stairs to Bisca's room. She hesitated before knocking. Human company wasn't appealing right now, but it would be considered rude if she didn't thank her.

Bisca answered immediately after the first knock.

"Juvia-san! Are you all right? Come in, please, Asuka and Alzack are away, so we can talk a little..."

Juvia stepped in and was overwhelmed by animals.

"I believe there's a free spot where we can sit and chat in the corner there..."

It wasn't really much of a space.. The floor was cramped and she saw a faint stain a few centimeters away from her hand. But she had worse problems. Juvia was expecting a quick pop in to thank Bisca, now they were apparently going to "chat".

"So," Bisca said, bringing two cups of tea over, "What was up with that freak-out?"

Juvia stared into the brown depths of her tea. Earl-Grey, she could tell just by looking at it. How thoughtful of Bisca to prepare her favorite kind.

She took a small sip, and felt sick. She had only liked this type because it was Earl-Gray-sama in her mind and it tasted horribly bitter. She pushed it aside, not impolitely, and tried to think of something she could say.

"Oh, Juvia just had a bad afternoon, just one of those days." Juvia tried to laugh, but ended up with a grimace and an odd noise that sounded somewhat like a dolphin.

Bisca raised an eyebrow, but remained silent as she took a sip of her tea.

"How are things going with Gray?"

Juvia tensed up and clenched her teeth. "Things with... Gray-kun are fine." she said tightly.

"Kun? Since when was Gray kun?"

Juvia winced at her trip-up. She decide there wasn't much of a point now that she had messed up so majorly.

"Juvia... Has had a bad dinner with Gray-sa-" She caught herself. "Kun."

Bisca's eyebrows were about to touch the sky.

"Suuure." She paused to sip her tea. "Just a bad dinner and you're calling him kun?"

Bisca really wasn't stubborn and meant well, but she didn't like conflict, especially between destined lovers, and was determined to resolve the issue soon.

Juvia winced inwardly. This was interrogation!

"Gray-sama told Juvia she was not important. Juvia now has something to do, if you'll excuse her." Juvia said irratably. She stood up and placed her unfinished cup of Earl Grey on the small counter.

"Good day, Bisca-san."

Juvia walked to the door and went outside.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Gray hazily awoke and rubbed his eyes.

His vision was blurry and things shifted in and out of focus.

He could see a black room... Dull gray-brown walls, but there were splotches of pink and green peeking in at the edge of his vision...

He turned on his side and saw Sharlene.

With nothing on.

"Oh shit..."

**Whoa... Lots of interesting stuff here... Can't wait to see what Gray and Juvia do next.**

**To address a couple of my comments/reviews: **

**Ok, I called you a perv in the middle of my story, because the majority of my readers will "see" something there that is, how should I put this, inappro-pro? *coughcoughdirtymindedbastard scoughcough***

**I took a few creative liberties with the setting and time with this story, so bear with me. Bisca is married to Alzack and they have another house somewhere, but Bisca just likes living here, is kind of what I was thinking. Also, sorry if I can't write Bisca well, but in my defense, I feel like her tone is pretty neutral and not really very different. If you notice a difference, I sincerely apologize. (｀****_´)ゞ****Also, I know nothing about tea. So sorry. Again.**

**Geez, this section should just be called "Apologies from the Author." And this whole chapter? Totally ad-libbed. Anyway, you guys are awesome, I love hearing your reviews and thank you for everything you do, it really lifts me up on a bad day. :) See you next time!**

**P.S. *SPAM ALERT* I have the first chapter of my NaLu story, This Crazy Thing Called Love or TCTCL for short, up if you wanna check it out. ;)**


	9. Chapter 9 and one half

**DOUBLE UPDATE FOR 50 REVIEWS BITCH!**

**Although, they're both kinda small, since I wrote a nice long chapter for you, but I deleted half, so yeah. Here's the half I didn't delete and I will update tomorrow when I finish restoring the half I did delete. Does that count as double update? Hope so, cause I wanted to treat you to something special for 50 MOTHERF***ING REVIEWS! Special thanks to bobobear2657 for 8 reviews. 8. Wow. Thanks girlfriend!**

"Oh shit..."

Why why why why WHY had Natsu gotten him so damn drunk?! His head hurt like fucking hell from the hangover and he desperately needed to get out of bed to get to the damn bathroom; and out of the house (Well, more of an apartment, really) for that matter.

The only problem was, there was a hot, naked, girl next to him and he couldn't exactly move without disturbing her. Which was exactly was he needed to do, since leaving when she awoke was a dick thing to do.

Well, leaving when she was sleeping wasn't exactly polite either.

He groaned and rolled back over to the other side. What was Juvia going to do when she found out about this?

It's not as if you HAVE to tell her... The little voice in his head whispered to him. I mean, besides you and Sharlene, no one will know this happened...

God, he really had sex with Sharlene? She was SUCH a slut, sleeping with him after she CLEARLY knew he had a girlfriend.

Wait, Juvia wasn't his girlfriend! Sleeping with Sharlene wasn't bad. Well, it was, but it wasn't like he was CHEATING on Juvia.

But it kind of was... I mean, it felt like he was, even though the date was just a dare.

Gray mashed his face into his hands. Oh, god. He had been a total DICK to Juvia. He had told her he didn't care about her, when the opposite was true! He really cared about and liked her, a lot! He liked, what the hell, loved her crazy, obsessive ways, her bright smile when he entered the guild, and the way she said "Gray-sama" when she saw him, as if he was the thing that made her world go round. God, he loved every fucking thing about her, from her flaws to her best points to her admittedly gorgeous body.

Wait, did he just say he loved her? (And her body? Geez, freaky pervert much?)

_He... Just... Said... He... Loved... Her._

"Loved..."

As soon as he said it, he knew it was true. He loved her. And this stupid Sharlene was NOT going to stop him from getting out of this disgustingly embarrassing bed.

Gray climbed off the luxurious mattress, not even caring if Sharlene awoke, and scrambled into his clothes.

The bed shook a little and Sharlene gave out a little snort. He saw a hot pink and green bra on the floor a few feet from the bed, obviously thrust off in the heat of the moment. Gray felt briefly nauseated and focused on "reverse stripping" as he sometimes called it.

He ran out the door, and clumsily blundered down some stairs. He was going to find the guild and Juvia no matter what.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Juvia blinked sleepily.

Was it really the next day already?

She rolled over and mashed her face into the pillow.

"Ugh... Juvia does not want to go to the guild..."

She could take a day off, right? She would just sleep right through the day...

But she couldn't fall asleep, so she got up and walked to the kitchen to make breakfast. She checked the fridge of eggs, and when none were found, she rustled around until she found her wallet.

Juvia was obviously going to have to go to the supermarket, since she had nothing else to eat, so she got dressed (blue tank top with very short pale orange shorts; she really could have cared less about about what she wore) and walked down.

When she got there, she picked up the eggs and a few other goods and walked to a register.

"Good day ma'am."

She nodded in reply to this and placed the items down.

"That'll be 1,000 jewel, ma'am"

**[Note: That may seem like a lot, but there are 100 jewel to the dollar, so if you do the math, that's 10 dollars.]**

She nodded again and opened her wallet to hand the money over.

The wallet was empty.

Juvia shook it in alarm, where was all her money?!

The only things that came out were a few dust specks.

The store owner clucked his tongue. "I'm sorry ma'am, we can't let you take these items, ma'am."

Juvia growled and stalked out of the store.

She really was going to have to go to the guild after all. After all her efforts to stay home and mourn, she had to face Gray and the rest of the guild, and she really didn't think she could take it.

Juvia kicked at a few pieces of loose asphalt while she thought.

_Gray-san... Is the source of this! _

_Gray Gray Gray Gray Gray! Damn you!_ She started walking furiously, not knowing, not caring where she was going, not stopping either.

Somehow, her feet led her to Dragon's Plight, where she spotted a few jewels on the ground.

700, 800. Not much, but enough to buy a drink or a few. Juvia knew she would normally save them, but this week hadn't exactly been normal, had it?

She walked inside, absently rubbing her hands against the wall. Juvia remembered the last time she was here, walking inside she had been completely infatuated with Gray-kun, running out, emotionally damaged by him.

Juvia felt a doorknob, fiercely twisted it, and thrust open the door into the Flower room.

"Welcome to the Flower room!"

Juvia walked to the bar.

"Welcome, is this your first time here?"

Juvia grunted no.

"Well then, you know how it works, don't you?"

"Yes..."

"Just out of curiosity, what room were you in before?"

"Gold."

The barmaid's eyes widened.

"Sharlene's..."

She leaned down close to Juvia and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Listen, did you hear the news about Sharlene?"

Juvia shook her head no.

"Apparently she hooked up with some cute guy."

Juvia was disinterested. The cuteness of guys that bitch/slut/whore/love rival (_Wait, no, she was not Juvia's love rival anymore!_) had sex with had no meaning to Juvia.

"But guess what? He was a _wizard!_"

Juvia looked up.

Clearly encouraged, the barmaid continued.

"According to the rumors, his name was Gray Fullbuster or something!"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**


	10. Chapter 9 and the other half

**Happy Christmas/Hanukkah (sorry if misspelled!)/Kwanzaa/Winter!**

**I know, I know, I'm late, please don't chew my head off in reviews. Visit my profile for excuses...**

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Gray ran towards the guild.

He was going to get there, apologize to Juvia, confess that he loved her, and make her put on that beautiful smile.

_Juvia... Wait for me... _

_I love you._

After what seemed like a million years, Gray arrived at the guild. Little more than a windmill, it was hardly the image of intimidation, yet Gray felt an odd sense of foreboding as he pushed through the doors. But he steeled his nerves and pushed through the threshold of the doorway.

"Juvia!"

A hush spread through the members of Fairy Tail as he burst through the door.

"Did you hear?"

"With some barmaid too..."

"Slut... Dishonorable... No respect for nakama... Sharlene, I heard..."

"Heartbroken."

Whispers spread through the room and Gray was, for all his efforts to phase out anything but Juvia, hearing this. Why was everyone talking about it? Surely Juvia hadn't found out...

Wait.

There she was!

At the bar!

Gray couldn't believe his eyes for two reasons. One, even _Mirajane_ of all people was giving him a chill inducing evil-eye, and two, Juvia was staring at him.

She had a cold, betrayed look in her eye, nothing like her usual smile.

Gray was about to sink to his knees. Why, why, had he done what he'd done? What had he destroyed?

"Juvia..."

"Gray," someone said. And it wasn't Juvia.

"Come outside with me for a second." Erza said.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Death stare.

That was the only word that could describe the look Erza had on her face. Well, two words. But Gray had no time to think about technicalities then.

"Gray. You called Juvia worthless, then you had the _audacity_ to sleep with Sharlene Hemstream, a common _slut_ off the streets. And _now_ you come seeking her?"

Gray winced. "I wanted to apologize."

"Gray Fullbuster," A dark look came over Erza's face as she pulled out a sword, "I shall have to kill you for wronging this sweet maiden."

Gray's hair stood on end. "KYAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Do not kill him, Erza-san."

Juvia stood behind Erza.

Erza glared at her for a few seconds before sheathing her sword. "Fine. I am counting on you, Juvia, to inflict suitable punishment." She quietly walked back into the guild hall.

"Gray-kun."

"Juvia..."

Gray looked into her eyes. Still without any warmth whatsoever.

"The only reason Erza-san is not impaling Gray-kun right now is because of Juvia. It is because she has something to say."

"Look Juvia I'm s-"

"Juvia wishes Gray-kun would not talk."

The ice in her voice was shocking.

"Please let Juvia finish."

"Juvia has always loved Gray-kun. Since she first saw him when she was in Phantom Lord, in fact. However, Gray-kun never loved her back. And Juvia accepted that. In time, she thought, Gray-kun will choose _her_ and not some love rival. And then Juvia was asked to go on a date with Juvia. Juvia was so happy, out of all his suitors he chose _Juvia_, the one who wanted him most. Juvia went on a wonderful date with Gray-kun and all was well."

"And then Juvia found out the truth. That Gray-kun did not truly love Juvia and she was worthless, simply a source of pride that he had completed a dare. Juvia was heartbroken, Gray-kun, and then Gray-kun hooked up with the beautiful Sharlene."

"Juvia used to have so much love for her dear Gray-sama. But now she has so little left."

"Juvia..." Her voice shook and she briefly looked down, "Has but one question that she begs Gray-kun to answer. She begs, in honor of the old love she had, that Gray-kun will answer it honestly..."

Tears streamed down both their faces.

"Juvia... WANTS TO KNOW WHAT SHE HAS DONE TO MAKE GRAY-KUN HATE HER!"

There was a long pause.

"Juvia... I don't hate you. You have never done anything but make me happy, and that is all I could ask for and more. I was drunk and an idiot when I hooked up with that slut. I'm sorry. Juvia..."

Gray hesitated for an instant before pulling her into an embrace.

"Juvia... I love you."

Juvia's eyes opened wide.

"G-Gray-kun..."

"Juvia... Juvia is sorry."

"Eh?!"

Juvia pulled away and seemed to fold into herself.

"Juvia... Has little love for you. She would like to love you, but one cannot force the heart to feel something it has lost."

Gray's knees felt weak. "J-Juvia..."

"Gray-kun, Juvia appreciates the apology, and hopes you and her can be friends."

"I'm being friend-zoned." Gray said miserably.

"Gray-kun. If you want Juvia to love you, make her fall in love the way you did when you met her. Her heart will have no choice."

The statement wasn't that encouraging, but Gray straightened up and said, "Juvia, will you go on a date with me? A real one this time?"

Juvia softened a bit. "Gray-kun, I will go with you as a friend. I do not feel ready to be a romantic partner yet."

"Great! Where, when?"

She thought for a second. "Meet me outside the guild at 12. We will decide where to go from there."

"Fantastic. Well, I have to go..."

Juvia let out a smile for the first time in a while. She watched Gray almost disappear in the distance as he walked away.

"Oh, and Gray-kun!" she shouted.

"Yeah Juvia?" He yelled back.

"Thank you."

"Sure thing." Gray said, not exactly sure what he was being thanked for.

Nonetheless, he nodded his head slightly and she turned around to head in the guild, she had to find a job and tell Erza and Gajeel not to murder Gray...

**Yay for shameless fluff with a darker edge! Again, visit my profile for excuses on why I'm late, heh heh...**


	11. Chapter 10

**Seriously. I am such an asshole. I don't update for TWO months, and then I give you just a tiny taste? I'm sorry, but that is very mean of me. Sorry! :(**

Gray was intending to walk home calmly.

Instead, a hand clamped over his mouth and he was forced into an alley.

"GRAAAAAAAAY!"

"Natsu, stop it!"

"But Luce, he made a nakama cry!"

"Natsu Dragoneel, if you don't let go of Gray and let him explain himself I will seriously summon all my spirits and have them deal with you."

"Geez, one date and you start acting like my wife, weirdo."

"NATSU!"

"Natsu? Lucy? Shit, you scared me." Gray looked from one to the other in bewilderment. "And wait, you guys are dating?! Since when? How?" _Natsu isn't nearly smooth enough to get a girl like Lucy..._

Lucy blushed. "Well, after your unsuccessful 'date,' Natsu took me home and well, he started kissing me and we kind of went from there..."

"YOU HAD SEX?!"

"NO! What kind of person do you think I am?!" Lucy said with a face red as a tomato.

Gray didn't answer.

Lucy gave him a withering look and continued. "We just got back from Glenna on a date. And keep this secret! We will never hear the end of this from Mirajane if someone tells." She turned very red. "ANYWAY, what are YOU doing, hooking up with that stupid barmaid?! Juvia's totally sad, she tried to stab herself with a white hot poker yesterday! And Natsu's just about ready to kill you..."

Gray glanced at the red (with anger) Natsu and explained. At the end, Natsu's expression had changed to one of a certain sympathy and Lucy's to immense pity.

"Oh, poor, poor you and Juvia. Hey, you know this would make for a _fantastic _novel..."

"Hmph." Natsu snorted. "You're gonna need help! I am going to be your wingman!"

"Natsu, you'd be a terrible wingman."

Natsu was serious for a moment. "Ice-head will screw up on his own."

"HEY, WHAT DID YOU SAY HOTHEAD!?"

Lucy sweatdropped as they exchanged several punches.

"Hey, you guys..."

"Open, Gate of the Lion,"

"LEO!"

"Hello Lucy..."

Loke took one look at the situation. "Are these barbarians fighting again?"

"Come," he said, scooping Lucy up in his arms, "Let's find somewhere quiet."

"HEY! PUT ME DOWN! THINK OF ARIES! AND I'M NATSU'S GIRL!"

"Natsu's girl?"

Lucy turned a pleasant shade of turnip. "Loke, just break up the fight please..."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **

An agreement, made primarily by Lucy, was worked out. Natsu would leave ("GET _OUT_ NATSU, YOU ARE NO HELP AT ALL") and Loke would only comment on the psychology of women ("GRAY DOES NOT NEED SEX TIPS"). After a bit though, it became clear Loke was no help ("HE DOESN'T NEED TIPS ON HOW TO TWO-TIME IT EITHER") so he was kicked out.

Gray watched Loke stumble out the after literally being kicked out of the door. "So," Lucy said, radiating a dark aura of irritation, "You need to make up with Juvia somehow."

Gray nodded.

Lucy looked up with fire in her eyes.

"I will help."


	12. Chapter 11

Ridiculous fluff beyond here. Even my cold heart starts to beat and  
skip and dance when I read this. And again, sorry for no update.

Gray felt ridiculously nervous.  
His every heartbeat was accompanied by a worry that Juvia wouldn't show up, that they would have a horrible time, he would somehow screw up, even with all the lessons in love from Lucy.  
He had cleaned up, hair freshly shampooed, and he had even put on cologne. Lucy had gagged the first time he tried to put it on himself.  
"Less... Less..."  
He had worked out, not that he really needed it, but mostly because Lucy insisted that all girls could tell when a guy was built from work or from magic. And here he was, with a bouquet of waterlilies, waiting for Juvia.  
He hoped she could see him, and argh, all the worries came pounding back, worse than ever. Gray was pretty sure he looked okay, other females in the vicinity giggled and goggled at him. GAAAAH! He couldn't take it. Gray did whatever he did when he nervous.  
He stripped. Down to his boxers.  
"Gray-kun."  
Gray screamed. _No, JUVIA!_  
"Uh... Hey."  
Gray tried to pass it off. He was cool.  
_I totally meant to come this way_, he thought.  
Gray saw the waterlilies on the ground and dove for them.  
"Juvia-chan... Um, these are for you."  
Juvia smiled. Gray was relieved to see there was no mark from where she stabbed herself, and that her eyes weren't icy. And damn, she looked good. Curls cascaded down her shoulders. She wore a short, silvery dress that let you know just how toned and sexy her legs were. There was a slit to reveal her mark. Two straps were made of a gossamer material and went down to a square neckline that showed the stuff up there too.  
"Gray-kun looks good today. Thank you for the lilies."  
Juvia smelled them, and then plucked a pale pink one out and tucked it behind her ear. Gray thought how cute and pretty it looked.  
"You're welcome," Gray stammered out, "You look really nice today too."  
Gray's face turned a pretty shade of scarlet.  
"Th- The weather's nice outside. Sunny and stuff. Maybe we should go somewhere outside?" Gray was going to shrivel up and die in a hole before he could manage to walk ten feet.  
Juvia looked slightly amused at Gray's nervousness. "Juvia knows a pretty place."  
"Perfect! We should go there then! Where is it?"  
This puppy-dog attitude was not going to make her fall in love anytime soon, Gray thought.  
Juvia laughed. How had he never noticed it sounded pretty, like tinkling bells or twinkling stars in the night?  
Gray, you are sappy. You aren't a fucking poet. Goddammit, you're just a horrible person who wants a girl who's way out of his league.  
"What are you laughing at?" Gray said, mildly irritated, both at Juvia and himself.  
"Juvia is just wondering if Gray-kun knows it's a few miles away."  
"Oh."  
They sat in silence for a few minutes.  
"Where is it?"  
"Pygmy Hollow." Juvia named a town a few miles inland of Glenna.  
"There's a carriage that runs through there right?"  
"Yes..."  
"Well, we could ride that and then walk the rest of the way."  
Juvia was silent.  
"Oooooor we can not go there?" Gray was nervous. He felt like he was walking on needles, with pinpricks of nervousness stabbing him constantly.  
"No, no," Juvia said, smiling brightly like before, "Juvia thinks that's a very clever idea."  
Gray could kiss the ground in relief.  
They walked towards the carriages and horses, but as they got closer, Juvia started pressing up against him. She grabbed his hand, and Gray felt the clammy sweat.  
"What's wrong?"  
"J- Juvia doesn't like horses."  
"Juvia, we don't have to do this if you don't want to."  
"No, Juvia will be strong."  
Gray payed the man, who glanced at Juvia before she shakily climbed in. "Will the lady be okay?" He said, concern written all over his face. Juvia seemed not to have heard him, she seemed to have found something extremely fascinating outside the carriage. Gray smiled at her. "Yeah, she's strong. She'll be fine."  
The journey took a couple hours. Juvia leaned up against him and fell asleep to the rocking motion of the cart. Gray could hear her small breaths and heartbeat. _Juvia... I hope you know that I love you._  
**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**  
"Wow..."  
Gray was awed by the beauty of the lake before him.  
They had gotten off the carriage, and Juvia had thanked Gray and tipped the driver generously. She had been courteous, but her eyes held more. She had taken a few tentative steps toward the horses after  
and stroked the cheek of one.  
They had then walked to the absolutely stunning pond. Juvia sat down on a log and merged her toe with the water. She brushed a few stray hairs out of her face and Gray thought her kindness and beauty  
exceeded a pond by light years.  
Gray wondered what his ice-make would do with water.  
"Ice-make..." Gray mumbled under his breath.  
Suddenly, crystal flowers appeared all around Juvia. A small garden flourished. Lilies, roses, wildflowers, tulips, and daisies grew and tangled around her. Juvia clapped her hands in delight. Encouraged, he wove a crown of flowers that appeared beside her. Juvia put it on, and it wasn't cold at all.  
"Gray-kun," she breathed, "it's beautiful!"  
Gray had used quite a bit of his magic power, and he sat down, breathing hard. Lyon was the one who was good at animating things. Gray had just added little bits of ice to everything.  
"Gray-kun..." Juvia came and sat down beside him. "That was the most  
beautiful thing I have ever seen."  
"It was... Nothing." Gray panted, smiling.  
"Let's watch the sunset."


	13. Chapter 12

**Really short tidbit, I'm sorry, I caught pneumonia a month ago and could really not write much! I'm sorry!**

Perfect. That was how the day had gone, that was how Gray felt right now. Him and Juvia had talked and laughed until the night had ended and the first rays of dawn peeked out over the horizon. "Gray-kun, look at that star. It's especially bright."

He had squinted and said that it belonged to the constellation Sagittarius.

"The cosplaying celestial spirit?"

Gray laughed. "I wonder if he can see us."

Juvia waved to the sky. "Moshi-moshi, Sagittarius-san! "

They had smiled and laughed until Juvia had to leave. Gray was sorry to see her go, and the way Juvia looked in his eyes said that she was too. They had done nothing more, and that day they were just friends enjoying themselves.

Juvia walked home alone. Gray had offered to walk her, but she had insisted on being by herself. She needed to collect her thoughts.

The night had been beautiful. Juvia had enjoyed herself with Gray-s-

"Kun," she told herself quietly, "kun."

Juvia touched her hair and felt the crown that was still on her head.

"Oh, Gray-kun..."

Juvia smiled at the delicate lilies and daisies, along with other ice wildflowers, that encircled her head. She didn't know if they would ever melt, but she was sure that she would miss them dearly if they did.

Gray-kun... We're the feelings she felt love, or the remnants of a beautiful night with Gray-kun? Just passing or permanent?

"Gaaaaah, Juvia is so confused!"

"Oi, Juvia, is that you?"

Gajeel stepped out from the lengthening shadows of an alley.

"I was looking for you all day, dammit! Where the hell were you?!"

"Juvia was out having a nice time with Gray-kun."

"Ice Stripper?! I thought you hated him?"

"Juvia told the guild that everything was fine between us."

"No, you didn't. You told people not to fuckin' kill him, not that you were dating!"

"Juvia is not dating Gray-kun. She is simply friends."

Gajeel stared at her for a few seconds suspiciously, and Juvia noticed something.

"Where is Lily-san?"

Gajeel sighed. "That's the thing. I don't know where the hell he is!"

"Perhaps he is with Natsu-san or Wendy. They both have cats too."

Gajeel snorted. "Already checked."

Juvia shrugged. "Juvia does not know where Lily-san would be. Good luck finding him!"

"Juvia is," she yawned, "very tired now..."

"Yeah, well rest up and help me look later! We need to go on high paying jobs or else we'll never get walls for our bathroom, like Levy wants..."

Juvia smiled knowingly, and Gajeel blushed profusely. "Wait, what the hell, it's not like

Juvia ran back to Fairy Hills, laughing and waving to Gajeel.

"Geez, she sure has a ton of energy for someone who's tired..."

"Gonna go find Levy... She can make Metal Charms or Iron Flakes for breakfast..."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

**Woohoo, little obscure shoutout to a very talented GaLe writer (I'm so sorry, I forgot her username!) who I have followed and favorited, and also speculation on what Gajeel eats for breakfast. And what the hell is going on with Lily-chan? Wait a few months for the next short chapter, heh heh... Seriously though, I willwrite more as soon as I post this chappie. Will post another LONG chapter by the end of this month.**

**I suck so bad at making you wait. Gomenasai!**


	14. Hiatus Announcement

Hey guys. Sorry this isn't a new chapter.

I just wanted to tell all of you that I'm putting this story on hiatus. I haven't been updating regularly, my chapters are really short, and my heart just really isn't in it. I'm really sorry, some things in my life are going on and I'm not enthusiastic or inspired anymore.

Once I can give you guys quality content, I'll post or start up again, or I might do something anecdotally.

I am sorry about this too. It's been a year since I joined (man, that long?!), and you guys have been nothing but supportive. Thank you so much for being there (here) and reading for so long.

Thank you, sorry, and I'll miss you!


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